Improved attachment of whiffletrees to the tow-lines of canal-boats



A. GLOW.

Whiletree.

' PaentedhMafy 20, :18622,-` 'i Me e k mums jf;

llllllll N.PETEnS, PHOTO-UTNUGRAPNER. WASHINGTON u c UNITED STATES PATENT OFFicE.'

ABRAM OLOVV, OF PORT BYRON, NE'V YORK.

.lli

To all whom tm/ay concern:

Be it known that I, ABRAM GLOW, of Port Byron, in the county of Cayuga and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Mode of Attaching Whifiletrees to the Tow- Lines ofv Canal-Boats; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this speciiication, in which- Figure l is a plan or top view of my invention; Fig. 2, an inverted plan otl the saine;

Fig. 3, a transverse section oi' the saine, takening whifiietrees to' the -tow-lines of canalboats, whereby the whiihetree may be instantly detached from the tow-line when the.

latter is drawn taut--a s, for instance, when a boat in passing another one has its tow-lines catch against it-a contingency which frequently occurs, and which causes the horse to be thrown into the canal.

The object of the invention is to obtain a catch or fastening which will not only admit of the whiilletree being readily and quickly detached from the taut tow-line when' necessary, but which will `also admit of being used as an ordinary hook attachment when the tow-linelis not drawn taut, the'invention also serving to secure the portion of the tow-line which is connected to it in case of the sud den parting of the-toweline under tension.

To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand and construct my invention, I will proceed to describe it.

A represents a whiletree, which may be constructed in the "usual way, and having hooks a a at its ends to receive the traces. On the whiflietree at its center there is placed 4and iirmly secured a metallic collar, B, the

back part of which, has two parallel lugs or projections, b b, which extend from it a suitable distance and between which therea is .placed a hook, C. The hook C is allowed to work freely on a pin o'r pivot, c, which secures it at its outer or back part between the lugs or projections l) b, and the outer or back part IMPROVED ATTACHMENT OF WHIFFLETREES T0 THE TOW-*LINES 0F CANAL-BOATS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 35,300, dated May 20, 1862.

of saidhook is curved, as shown at CZ, to form a hook-shaped projection, over which a catch, D, passes to retain the hook C in properposition to receive and hold the tow-line E, as shown clearly in Fig. 3. The 'catch D is secured between the lugs or projections l? b by a fulcrum-pin, e, and the lower end of said catch projects beyond the lugs b b, so that it may be readily operated upon by the rider, and.

the catch disengaged or thrown oft 'from the hook projection d of the hook O,when it is necessary to detach the whiiiietree from thetowline. The catch D is retained or held over the projection d, at the ou'ter or back end of the hook C by means of a spring, f, as shown clearly in Fig. 3. The front end of the hook C has a drop 0r guard, g, iitted in it, which prevents the tow-line being casually detached from the hook. By this arrangement it will be seen that the pull of the tow-line is on the l hook C near its pivot c, and consequently there will not be a great strain on the catch D, and the latter may therefore be readily disengaged from the projection d of thehook O when necessary, even when the tow-line is under its greatest tension.

Vhen it is necessary to detach the Whittletree from the to w-li ne, and the latter is slack or tow-line being detached under tension, and the kind that has found most favor with boatmen is shown in Fig. 4, in which E is the whiflietree, and F a lever pivoted at one end in a projection, a', and having its opposite end se cured by a catch, l2. In this arrangement it will be seen that the pull of the tow-line is at the center of lever F, and that there willbe a considerable lpressure exerted against the catch b', so much as to render the releasing of the lever F a matter of some difficulty when the tow-line is taut; and it will also be seen that the tow-line cannot be attached to or detached from the whiflietree without adj usting the lever F, whereas in my improvement the tow-line when slack or not under tension may be readily adj usted on-hook'O in the same way as it' it were rigidly attached to the whii'l etree.

The guard or drop g rests against the back This guard or drop prevents, as before stated, the `tow-line being' casually detached from the hook @ma contingency very liable to occur in case the tow-line parts or breaks under tension for when the towdine thus partsor breaks, the spring of the portion of the line connected to the whifetree is liable to pass off the hook and drop into the canal. In detaching a slack tow-line from the Whifletree, the guard or drop is of course shoved back to adniitof the loop of the line passing off the hook.

I am aware that safety or pivoted hooks have been used upon the Whifetrees that carrythe tow-lines, and I do not claim, broad- 1y, the invention thereof; but,

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The combination of the guard g with the hook C, collar B, and catch D, al1 of said parts being constructed and operating as set forth.

ABRAIWI GLOW.

Witnesses:

EGBERT PADDocK, PETER YATES. 

